Florida C Corporation Formation

When you form a Corporation in Florida, your business is automatically classified as a C Corporation (as opposed to an S Corporation, which would require a small amount of additional paperwork). Simply file your Articles of Incorporation with the Division of Corporations of the Florida Department of State in Tallahassee, Florida; their official website, from which you can file formation documents, research business entities, and pay annual reports, is sunbiz.org. Click and Inc makes it easy to form your business by providing sample Articles of Incorporation for you to review when drafting your own.

Incorporate Now

Select Your State
Select Entity Type

Steps to Forming a Florida C Corporation

Florida requires that the following information is provided in your Articles of Incorporation:

  • Name: You must include a corporate suffix or an abbreviation, such as “Corporation” or “Inc.” That name must be available for use in Florida—it cannot be registered with the Secretary of State by another entity. It’s a good idea to perform a preliminary business name search before submitting documents for filing to avoid a rejection.
  • Principal Address: You will list the principal location of your business. A PO Box can be provided for your mailing address, but your principal address must be a physical one.
  • Purpose: You need to list the purpose for which your corporation is being formed. This is not typically required to be more specific than “any lawful purpose,” except in the case of professional corporations.
  • Shares: This is the amount of shares your company is authorized to issue. You must authorize at least one share.
  • Directors/Officers: This article is optional. If you wish, you can provide the names and addresses of your directors and/or officers.
  • Registered Agent: This must be a person or already-registered entity that is located in Florida and is available during office hours to accept service of process and other correspondence.
  • Effective Date: Unless otherwise specified in an added provision, your Articles of Incorporation will be effective on the date of receipt by the Secretary of State’s office.
  • Signature: Whoever drafted this document should sign as Incorporator and date the bottom of the document.

If any of the above information changes, you will need to file Articles of Amendment to alert the state. It is important that the state have accurate information on file for your business at all times.

Let ClickAndInc.com set up your C Corporation in Florida for you.

Further Responsibilities of a Florida C Corporation

Any Florida corporation must file an Annual Report with the state each year between January 1 and May 1. If you are late, you will be charged a late fee.

Additional Information about a Florida C Corporation

Your C Corporation:

  • Can sell stock and raise capital
  • May deduct the cost of benefits provided to employers (such as parking permits, health insurance, and so on)
  • Has a board of directors, which oversees the policies of the corporation
  • Issues limited liability for owners
  • Can be owned by non-US citizens or non-resident aliens
  • Can own other business entities
  • Can be owned by other business entities
  • Is taxed separately from the owners’ income

Shareholders of a Florida C Corporation cannot be held liable in a judgment against the corporation for an amount greater than the amount of stock they hold. (This does not include any personal liabilities, such as fraud, failure to pay taxes, and so on.)

Florida Startup Quicklinks